In the early twentieth century in North America, electric cars shared the roads with gas-fueled cars, but after a short time, gas-fueled cars became the standard. Although electric cars were quieter, cleaner, and easier to start, they were not able to travel the required distances, and their plodding speed failed to capture the imagination.
Lately, in Europe and in Asia, where commuting distances are shorter and gas is more expensive than in the United States, electric cars have grown in popularity. Electric recharging stations are appearing in cities. The government of China has offered monetary incentives to car manufacturers for each electric car they manufacture as well as to the people who purchase the electric cars. Taxi drivers in Tokyo have embraced electric vehicles. Major car manufacturers, including Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, and Mercedes Benz, all offer electric cars everywhere but in North America.
In North America, slow, short-ranged electric vehicles with a high initial cost have thus far appealed to a limited audience. An American electric car that appeared briefly in the 1990s had a cruising speed of twenty-five miles per hour and could travel eighty-five miles on a single charge. Since then, battery technology has improved markedly. More recently, a North American company introduced an electric sports car that can travel 300 miles on a single charge and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, similar to the best sports car. The hope is that North Americans will embrace the new technology when they see an electric car as appealing as a conventional sports car.
Other American auto manufacturers are marketing electric cars as they do in Europe, as commuter cars. The design of many of these cars is innovative: Some are made of light composites and seat only two people. One is a three-wheeler that is classified as a motorcycle. Another electric car, the Tango, is five inches narrower than a large motorcycle and seats two, one behind the other. Four of these vehicles fit in a single parking space. The vehicle is marketed as a great way to drive between lanes of stopped traffic.
All electric cars will help to reduce exhaust and greenhouse gases; some will do it with greater flair than others.